30 min naps!!!!!!!!!!!!! nothing working

[allyson]

I am going CRAZY..... my 8 month old is taking 30 minute naps and when I do pu/pd whe fights me. I do not know what to do. this is her second nap at 1:30 and her first was at 10 and I am going to pull my hair out. she is waking up cranky.

[Lucysmom]

Allyson -

So sorry to hear today has been rough.  I read your other post on the naps board and am I correct in saying that she usually takes a 45 minute nap in the am and then her afternoon nap is longer?  If this is the case and today she is having a rough nap day out of the blue, just take it as a wonky day and hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I have not done pupd with my dd but I did read that it is common for babies this age to fight as they have more physical abilities.  You may want to check out the pupd board for some reassurance. 

How are you putting her down for naps?  Is she being put down more awake than drowsy?  This was a mistake I made with my dd and she fought naps like crazy for over a week.  I read the sticky at the top of the naps forum about babies 6-12 months overcoming 45 minute naps and I realized I was trying to put her down too drowsy.  So once I put her down, she would wake fully and want to party and then get upset. 

Also, wake to sleep is a bit confusing in that it can be done in different ways.  I think the way you described it you were going in to make her stir just a bit and then leaving.  The other thing you can do is sneak in 5-10 minutes before her normal wake up and put your hand on her.  Sometimes just some gentle pressure on babies can send them back into another sleep cycle. 

If she has had long naps in the past, then maybe you should concentrate on tweaking her awake time by increasing it gradually.  I know my dd (almost 8 months) can now stay up longer all of the sudden. 

I don't know if I have helped but I just wanted to offer you some support and encouragement.  I know soooo very well how tough things are when your obviously tired dd won't nap for long enough!      When she goes to bed tonight put your feet up and have a nice glass of wine if you are so inclined!

Let us know how you get on!  {{{HUGS}}} to you!

[allyson]

thank you for your help.... It does get frustrating as you know. I just want her to be well rested. I will try that other technique you mentioned for her naps. I guess this is parenting. just have to roll with it. I think I will have some wine tonight. I ran for a bit to get some excercise and that helped a lot. thanks again

[Lucysmom]

Hi Allyson -

I hope you are doing ok this morning.  That is good that you excersised - good stress reliever and just does a body good! 

So I just reread what I wrote about the other technique for wake to sleep and I think I need to explain it better.  So if your dd is waking up at 40 minutes, sneak in 5 minutes or so beforehand.  Put your hand on her gently and keep it there until she has gone through the jolt that is waking her up at 40-45 minutes and then stay 5 minutes longer.  With my dd, when she goes through the jolt her legs start moving so I applied gentle pressure to her legs to keep them down and this helped her get into the next sleep cycle.  So you may need to observe what is happening when she is waking up and then figure out where you should put your hand(s).  Also, this technique might take a day or two to work so try not to get disheartened. 

I can't recall but have you tried tweaking her awake time?  I gather from reading others' posts that 6-9 months can be challenging in figuring out awake times.  I am in the thick of it myself with my almost 8 month old dd!  I don't know if that makes you feel any better but you are not alone!

Let me know how today is going.  Take care and {{{HUGS}}} to you.

[allyson]

she is doing better today. I think her cold was the main contributor of messing up her naps and night sleep. This morning she took a 4o min nap and she just went down for her afternoon nap at 1:30pm. I am a little afraid to go in there during her nap because I don't want her to hear me and wake up. I swear she can sence I am there . I'll try it. It is weird, because before a week ago she was taking 1-1.5 hour naps on her own. do you think I should try it today or see what she does? thanks for you help.

[Lucysmom]

Hi Allyson- How did the afternoon nap go?  I did not know she had a cold - that probably explains why her sleep has been all over the place.  I am curious to hear how her afternoon nap went so post when you get a chance. 

[allyson]

It was a weird cold she did not have symptoms until the last 3 days of it. SHE is sooooooo much better now. that was what was disturbing her sleep. my friends babies did the same thing, it must be the same bug. she slept straight throught the night without any night wakings. I successfully extended her pm nap yesterday from 30 min to 1.5 hours. I just picked her up and calmed her and gave her a pacifier and she fell back asleep. her jolt is at 25 min, but I cannot let her see me because she will think it is play time and I find that tought so I close my eyes and pretend I am sleeping when I am near her trying to extend the naps and ther is no eye contact. she is having this jot at 25 min and waking at 30, hopefully she can get through it. we will see today.

she was up at 5:30am today so I put her down for a nap at 8 a bit earlier than normal so today she will probably need 3 naps. I'll try and extend her afternoon nap again and keep my fingers crossed. sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

thanks for thinking of us.

[Colesmom]

hi there,

just wanted to say that it may take a few days of helping her through the jolts..but you have the right idea not looking at her and engaging her. 

Hugs to you...sounds like you're on the right track.